Career Service
Policies & Compliance
Copyright Policy
The Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.
Copyright is an intellectual property law that protects original works. In general, copyright does not protect ideas — it protects how those ideas are expressed. Under current law, copyright protection begins at the moment a work is created and continues until 70 years after the death of the author. Works published before 1924 are part of the public domain, meaning no permission is needed to copy or use them.
Library & Fair Use Guidelines
Libraries are nonprofit entities and may lend books to users under the principle of the first sale doctrine, as no new copies are being created. Students and faculty may not request PDFs or copies of full textbooks, nor will the Librarian photocopy copyrighted material. It is the student's responsibility to use these materials in the library and/or clinic. Photocopying, scanning, or taking pictures with electronic devices of entire books is strictly prohibited.
The Fair Use Doctrine provides for limited use of copyrighted materials for educational and research purposes without permission from the copyright owners. Under Fair Use, students may make copies of a single chart, graph, journal article, or a small section or single chapter of a book.
Additional information can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office.